The World as We Know It
by MyGlowingEyesXXX
Summary: Utena and Anthy have reunited and escaped Ohtori, but it isn't over.Not when there's so much they haven't figured out yet, or remembered.
1. Out of the Darkness

After an epic rewatch of the series, I have been inspired to write a fanfic. I've loved this show for years, but I've been intimidated to tackle fanfics of it, _however_ I've decided to take it head on, why practice with one shots, when I can start a ridiculously long fic (I fully acknowlege my insanity btw) also, mandatory "I don't own this" etc.

Utena stared into the darkness. Right now it was all she knew, darkness, pain, hatred, and whispers of cruel words chattering to her constantly. When she first took the swords, she'd screamed and cried out in pain until her voice had gone hoarse. She had long since learned it only hurt more when you screamed. So she shivered and convulsed silently, only emitting small moans of pain. That was when she heard a voice. One she hadn't heard in what felt like millennia. A voice that made her remember why she was here in the first place. For the first time in a long time, Utena began to focus her eyes on her surroundings, it was still the same desolate view she'd seen the last time she'd opened her eyes, she could still see nothing except endless swords penetrating and impaling her, but as she strained to look beyond them, she saw her. She could hear her screaming something, what was it? It sounded familiar somehow. "Utena!" So familiar, she thought "Utena, wake up!" Was that what I was called? Her eyes opened wide as she remembered more. " Hime…Himemiya?" She looked around again, but this time she wasn't surrounded by swords. She was in a hospital bed, with Anthy at her side, holding her hand gently. Two nurses that were standing in the door frame looked in with astonishment. "That girl has been in this hospital for nearly a year, and she hasn't said one word until today" One of the nurses whispered to Anthy. "We didn't even know her name" It didn't appear as though Anthy was listening to her however, as she gazed intently at Utena.

The next day Utena sat in the passenger seat while Anthy drove them away, the hospital she had been in was large and old, with a high security 15 foot gate around it. That was all she knew, but looking at the print out of her discharge summary she could see this was definitely a psychiatric hospital, she could also see she was at another hospital before this one before being diagnosed with catatonic schizophrenia and moved here for "long term care". Utena looked at the paper, quizzically tilting herhead. "Himemiya, what does catatonic mean?" Anthy sighed wistfully, and said "It doesn't matter much now". Confused, Utena looked at the papers again. "Whatever they said I have, do you think they're right?" there was a nervous, awkward tone to her voice, what if she really was crazy, who in their right mind would actually believe something as crazy as what happened to her in Ohtori actually happened? She ran her hand absent mindedly over the scar on her torso. Hallucinations and delusions don't leave scars though, do they? Anthy shook her head "What you are afflicted with is far beyond their comprehension" Utena leaned her head against the window; she had forgotten just how confusing Anthy could be when she talked. As she contemplated her friend's words, she looked over and gasped suddenly, "Himemiya! How are you driving, you're way too young to be driving!" in response Anthy giggled. This in itself shocked Utena, she'd never seen Anthy so genuinely laugh and smile before. "Utena, I've been alive for a very, _very_ long time. I am more than capable of driving" Anthy looked over at her with a mysterious and playful smile. Utena looked down, unsure of why she was blushing. She could hear Anthy giggle again. "How long?" Utena asked looking up again to see Anthy's expression turn more somber. "Longer than I want to think about" The answer was a little vague for Utena's taste, but she was too tired to pursue it any further. Slowly she drifted into sleep.

_The Knights were running as fast as they could, most had abandoned their steeds in favour of travelling in stealth, so as to give the princess the best chance at survival. She held on to Sir Lancelot as tightly as she could, silent tears of fear running down the young girl's face. But it was in vain, they could hear their enemy growing close. As they reached the bridge that signified they were halfway through the forest, they realized it had been broken. They were trapped. The only way across would be to climb down the cliff, swim across the river, and climb up the other side. Lancelot knew he only had one choice. "Go" he told her "Run as fast as you can, when you reach the outside, disguise yourself as a commoner, nobody there will recognise you" The girl looked up at him, her innocent blue eyes mirroring the lack of understanding she had about the desperate situation she was in. "Are my parents dead?" She whispered. Kneeling down, he looked at her directly on eye level. "You're a strong, brave girl, don't forget that little one" He took her palm in his and kissed the back of her hand. "Don't stop no matter what, no exceptions" his voice was grave and serious, "We will hold them off, so get as far ahead as possible" The girl was confused, She hardly understood what had happened at the Castle, or who she was running from, but what she did know, was that Lancelot was the best Knight her kingdom had, and if he told her to do something, it was what she should do. So without further questions she took off and began to climb down the cliff as quickly as her little legs would allow her. As she continued to run, she could hear the battle cries of the knights behind, and her silent tears turned to heaving sobs as she ran faster._

Utena awoke with a jump; Anthy was shaking her by the shoulder. "Utena, we're here" she whispered. "I apologize, I didn't mean to startle you" Utena shook her head, "It wasn't you Himemiya, I don't exactly remember, but I think I was having a nightmare" Anthy reached out a hand to Utena and helped her up out of the car, groggily Utena complained "Why do I feel so weak, it's like all the muscles I spent years toning and building turned to jello or something" She hmphed at the end for emphasis. Anthy smiled "You haven't been physically active in quite some time Utena, and besides, the swords have taken quite the toll on your body" Utena turned her head abruptly to Anthy, eyes wide in shock. "You mean… those swords were…real?" She said, the disbelief evident in her voice. Anthy looked back at Utena, her eyes conveying a confusing mixture of emotions, certainly much more than Utena ever expected to see Anthy emote. "That's why you're my prince" she said softly "You saved me, you took them, the physical embodiment of hatred, I never would have left by myself if you didn't show me how" Tears were in her eyes and a smile on her face "Thank you" Silently, they walked from the car to their hotel room, how Anthy had the money to afford it Utena didn't know, nor did she know how they got in without getting carded. Once there, they got changed and got into the bed. Turning on her side, Utena held Anthy's hand, their nighttime ritual of so long ago coming back to her like it was yesterday. Anthy's hand tightened around her's and she felt herself grow relaxed and dazed. However she couldn't fall asleep as quickly as she usually did, she was kept awake by her mind trying to make sense of all than Anthy had said, as well as the uncomfortable familiarity of whatever it was she had dreamt. Eventually however, she did finally drift into a much needed rest.

Serously guys, let me know what you think, I already have the next few chapters completely planned out, so I'd appreciate the feedback.


	2. Freedom

The sunlight slowly filtered in to the hotel room, and briefly, two shadows of what appeared to be young girls could be seen on the wall. Utena slowly opened her eyes, and looking down, she could see a small monkey creature eating crackers on her chest. She awoke instantly. "Chu Chu!" she used her index finger to pet him on the head. He began to jump up and down on her chest while making small chu's of excitement. Utena giggled at Chu Chu's antics "I missed you little guy" Anthy walked into the room. "You're awake, you were sleeping for quite some time, it's almost noon" Utena yawned "I must have been really tired I guess, I don't know why though, at the hospital they said I was asleep all the time, so it's not like I wasn't getting enough sleep or anything" Anthy looked out the window, before softly speaking "The swords must have been using a lot of your energy, it's a testament to how much you have that you were able to wake up and function as quickly as you did" Utena rested her chin against her knees "So, you didn't think I would wake up right away?" Anthy turned her face away from the window and look at Utena "You didn't wake up right away, I was calling out to you for three hours, the nurses thought I was insane" She let out a small bitter laugh. Utena tried to remember waking up, it didn't feel like three hours, it felt like it was only a couple of seconds, but that said, she felt like there were large gaps in her memory of it, most likely because of how deeply in pain she was, physically and emotionally, it was almost as if the two kinds of pain were blended seamlessly in to one agonizing, torturous feeling that made Utena cringe and tighten just thinking about it. It made sense she wouldn't have been coherent enough to remember everything. But it still seemed a stretch that she had condensed three hours into a few seconds. Utena put her arms out in front of her, and began to stretch. "How did you find me?" Anthy moved across the room and sat down on the bed "I looked very hard, and used all resources I could gather" Utena stopped stretching and looked at Anthy "What resources?" her trademark mysterious smile played at the corner of Anthy's lips. "Any spell I could cast, any tarot reading that could give me any clues, any place that you could have ended up. I promised I would find you, and I was going to do everything in my power to ensure that happened" Her face was calm but her eyes had a determination Utena had never seen in Anthy before. Her eyes began to fill with tears, this was everything she had dreamed for Anthy, she could see it, she was _free_. Anthy's expression changed immediately to concern. "Utena, what's wrong?" Smiling brightly through her tears, she pressed her forehead against Anthy's, and took both her hands in hers. "Nothing, absolutely nothing Himemiya" Anthy in turn, put her arms around Utena's shoulders, and Utena circled her arms around Anthy, her hands resting at the small of her back. They remained blissfully in that position for quite some time, the prospect of their freedom finally sinking into Utena's, as well as Anthy's head. After fifteen minutes or so Utena began to notice Anthy breathing, as well as how soft and tender her skin felt against her fingers. She was embarrassed at her thoughts. She separated herself from Anthy. "We should do something fun, something we never would have been able to do while we were there" She felt giddy, she hadn't realized just how tense and on edge she was while she was at Ohtori until now. The thought that she could do anything she wanted to do without worrying about what other people thought was "princely" or what she thought was "princely" was downright electrifying. Anthy was smiling, but she wasn't as giddy as Utena was, it was almost a bittersweet smile. "Yes…we should" Utena however, was in too much of a blissful trance to notice the conflict in Anthy's voice, not to mention she wasn't the most observant person to begin with. "We could sneak into a nightclub, you were driving before, and you got us in here without people asking about how old we are, but you don't really like large crowds, so that wouldn't be too much fun for you, what about a museum or something?, I like it when you explain things to me, and I don't think I've been to one since before I went to Ohtori" Anthy smiled tenderly, and held back a giggle at her friend's excited babbling. "Let's go on an adventure!" Utena called out, and stood on top of their bed, Chu Chu in turn began jumping around Utena's feet and chattering excitedly. Anthy was unable to hold back her laughter, even if Utena was still too naïve to know they weren't in the clear just yet, she was happy to just be like this with her, whatever else happened would wait.

_The princess breathed heavily, she had been running for a long time, long enough that her sobs had subsided, and were replaced by occasional sniffles and strained breathing from exhaustion. She was covered in dirt and mud, her full yellow dress ripped in several different places, and one of her shoes had slipped off at some point in her frantic escape, it was a wonder her tiara hadn't fallen off, or that she was still running at the fast pace she set off at. She was in full survival mode, fight or flight as they call it. The princess was also quite physically capable for a girl her age, which likely had a large part in her continued endurance, not that anyone besides her parents or her personal protection knights knew that however, such things were not the traits of princesses, she had been told by her mother, she blindly accepted the knowledge her caretakers placed on her, the importance of looking pretty so as to attract a husband, although her title enough was reason for her to receive a high bid for marriage, and to always remain quiet and docile in all situations, a state which did not come easily to the young girl, who was more prone to hyperactive bursts of energy, and a curious kitten outlook on her world, though she tried her hardest to be who she was directed to be, after all she was going to be a queen someday, even at her age she understood her people needed to have faith in her as their leader, and that was how she would achieve it. She continued to run as fast as she could, as Sir Lancelot had told her, but her legs were starting to lose feeling, her chest burning with every breath she took, and she was beginning to feel too dizzy to run in a straight path. Her foot caught on a rock in the pathway, and she fell face first into the ground. Too exhausted to get up, she curled up into a ball on the pathway, and began to heave in heavy sobs once more. "Lance…" she called out, her voice hoarse from crying. "I wanna go home" she struggled to catch her breath against her hyperventilation. Nothing if not stubborn, the girl attempted to lift herself up off the ground and continue her journey, when she heard a voice, "Help me, please, somebody help me" it sounded like another little girl. "Who's there?" the princess called out. She heard screaming coming from deeper in the forest, away from the path. She looked around; she knew Lancelot told her to run straight to the outside, no distractions, no exceptions. But this was important, she thought, what if there was a little girl out there who was hurt and needed her? They could go into town together, maybe even pretend they were sisters and get taken in by a kind, sympathetic family. Her mind had gone off on a tangent, and unable to leave to safety when another little girl was hurt and scared, she strained to go into the depths of the forest and look for her._

It was dark when Utena practically leapt awake, her body covered in sweat, her breathing quick and irregular. Anthy stirred and woke up as well, in reaction to Utena's loud awakening. Anthy looked over at Utena and smiled playfully. "Quite the dream hmm, you seem quite elevated" She teased. Utena blushed profusely. "Uhh… it wasn't, err, like that" she looked down at her hands while she fidgeted with them. "You don't need to be embarrassed, you realize" Anthy continued to tease Utena. "No, really" Utena looked up, her initial embarrassment subsiding somewhat, although she was still blushing. "I was having another nightmare I think. I almost wish I could remember, it seems familiar, like I've dreamed it before". She turned to look at Anthy. "Hey, Himemiya, we met when we were little right?" Anthy looked up at Utena with an analytical expression on her face "Yes" Utena placed her hand on top of Anthy's. "I think you're in it or something, I can feel it" Utena looked thoughtfully at Anthy, "Maybe it's about when I saw you… then" Utena immediately remembered what she saw that night. The painful memory flooded her mind. A young Anthy, being impaled by the Million Swords of Hatred. She shivered, and Anthy moved to turn her hand over, and hold Utena's tightly. "We should go back to sleep" Anthy whispered "We had a long day, 'Adventuring', we're probably quite drained" Utena yawned, as if on cue. "Yeah, we should get some rest, or we won't be able to adventure tomorrow" Anthy giggled softly "Perhaps tomorrow should be a day to relax in preparation for the next adventure?" Utena sighed "Okay, maybe we can wait a little while before we go on our next adventure. But it's gonna be a huge, awesome one, maybe we'll even leave the country or something!" Anthy shook her head. "Goodnight Utena". Utena yawned again "Goodnight".


End file.
